The organizers of the Major League Baseball All-Star show currently touring Japan were not able to convince Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners or Hideki Matsui of the New York Yankees to play in this year's Nichibei yakyu, but the appearance of Japanese pitchers Kazuhisa Ishii and Akinori Otsuka has been one of the early highlights of the series for the local fans.
While he was not the winning pitcher, Ishii was the starter and threw well in Game 3 at Tokyo Dome on Nov. 7, six years to the day after he was the loser on the Japanese side, as the MLB won 8-1 on Nov. 7, 1998. The former Yakult Swallows and current Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander will most likely get another appearance, this time in relief, later in the tour.
San Diego Padres right-hander Otsuka took the mound in the ninth inning of Games 1 and 3 and closed out both, though there were no save chances, as the major leaguers held too big of a lead in each game. The first hitter Otsuka faced was Yakult catcher Atsuya Furuta who tipped his cap toward the mound as he stepped into the batter's box. Otsuka responded with a similar gesture.